"Pieces of the Island"-An English Translation

Jose Pena Batista

Lady in White and member of the Eastern Democratic Alliance, Caridad Caballero Batista was in her home on this past Tuesday June 19th, at around 8 PM, along with her husband Esteban Sandez Suarez and son Eric Sandez, in the city of Holguin, when communist functionaries carried out a demonstration of repudiation against the family, which consisted of screaming hateful and aggressive slogans at them.

According to how the dissident described the situation, the participants of the repudiation were “mostly head officials“, among them from the Communist Party, from the Popular Power, from the Municipal Vigilance, and also from the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, all of which screamed phrases such as “we must eliminate the enemies of the revolution”.

“They stood in front of my house“, explained Caballero, and remained there for a lengthy period of time from 8 PM on. The act of repudiaiton seemed to be “a festival” for the participants, said the activist, because there was even music for them.

On the following day, Wednesday June 20th, various dissidents from Velasco, Holguin had plans to travel to the city of Holguin to visit Caballero Batista at her home in order to participate in the weekly meeting held there, where activists carry out a vigil and share news about the latest acitivties being carried out by the Resistance on the island. All those who tried to travel were arrested.

The first activist to be detained on that morning was Manuel Martinez Leon during the early hours as he was arriving to the local terminal. In response to this, more than 5 dissidents showed up outside the Gibara police unit, where Leon was being held. These protestors also had plans to travel to the home of Caballero Batista.

In a report given to “Radio Republica”, the independent journalist Rafael Leyva Leyva, one of the protestors, explained that he, along with other dissidents, were going to remain protesting outside the police unit Manuel be freed. In addition, Leyva said that they were holding the police agent Juan Carlos Espinosa responsible for the arbitrary arrest of Leon.

A few minutes later, these same activists who were protesting were also arrested, according to declarations of Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina provided to the exiled Cuban activist Alfredo Viso. (Listen to the audio here). Among the detainees were Jesus Diaz Morales, Jose Pena Batista and Jorge Perez Zaldivar.

Meanwhile, Marta Diaz Rondon– member of the Ladies in White in Banes was also kept from traveling to the city of Holguin to visit her sister-in-struggle Caridad Caballero.

According to Caballero Batista, the vigilance and repression has only increased against the Cuban opposition in general. In fact, she points out that one camera which used to be installed down her block (to monitor who comes in and goes out) was taken down and re-installed right in front of the local Catholic Church, Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Men, surely to keep a tight watch over Ladies in White from Holguin who often are victims of beatings and arrests for trying to arrive to Sunday Mass in that temple.